Desalination in the Netherlands and BeyondEmily TenenbaumJanuary 27th 2011

Outline

Intro to Voltea & Capacitive Deionization Overview of Freshwater Scarcity in Europe Freshwater Scarcity in the Netherlands

• Desalination for agriculture• Desalination for municipal supply• Desalination for industry

Voltea & CapDI

Founded 2006, Netherlands-based Spin-off from Unilever Main activity: Develop and Commercialize

Capacitive Deionization technology (CapDI)

40 employees, growing rapidly CapDI basics

• Low feedwater pressure• Uses ion-exchange membranes• Treats tap to brackish water• Minimal pretreatment• No or little chemical use• Low energy use• Competitive with RO, EDR, ion exchange• Current commercial applications: cooling tower

make-up water, residential point-of-entry

Water Availability in Europe

World Resources Institute Water Stress Atlas, 2000

Desalination Capacity by Country

Water Availability in Europe

the Netherlands

BelgiumFrance

Significant freshwater scarcity in Northern Europe

Brackish Water in Netherlands

Depth of Brackish Water Interfacemeters below Normal Amsterdam Waterlevel (NAP) to reach [Cl-] = 1000 mg/L

Netherlands area = New Jersey + New Hampshire

Growing Problems:

• Coastal saltwater intrusion caused by depletion of fresh groundwater

• Inland brackish groundwater

Desalination Needs in the Netherlands

1. Agricultural – saltwater intrusion in greenhouse areas2. Municipal – increasingly brackish surface and groundwater3. Industrial – Strong financial incentive to reduce industrial water

use. Many solutions require desalination

Greenhouses near Rotterdam Tulip field near Voltea HQ

Desalination for Agriculture in Westland

Depth of Brackish Water Interfacemeters below Normal Amsterdam Waterlevel (NAP) to reach [Cl-] = 1000 mg/L

Westland Region, a.k.a. “Glass City”

Desalination for Agriculture in Westland

Westland Greenhouse Region

42% Dutch greenhouse sector

~1% National GDP Brackish surface and

groundwater Low-efficiency RO

systems treat groundwater for greenhouses

Deep injection of brine Upcoming government

ban on brine injection

Desalination for Agriculture in Westland

Harnaschpolder WWTP

Westland Greenhouse Region

Problem: brackish water challenge for greenhouses

Solution: reuse WWTP effluent for greenhouse irrigation

Parameter WWTP Effluent

Greenhouse max level

[Cl-] 135 mg/L 36 mg/L

[Na+] 100 mg/L 23 mg/L

~75% salt reduction needed

Pilot Testing for Wastewater Resuse

Long-term pilot testing underway of 3 desalination options:

UF/RO (Evides) Innovative RO train (Veolia) CapDI (Voltea)

Voltea engineer testing benchtop CapDI units at WWTP

Harnaschpolder WWTP

Pilot hall at Harnaschpolder WWTP

Desal for Municipal Water

Saline water from marine deposit layers and North Sea is seeping into drinking water sources

National drinking water chloride limit is 150 mg/L

Drinking water providers forsee difficulty in meeting the chloride limit

Some drinking water wells already shut down

Drinking water providers exploring brackish water desal options

All projects still in pilot phaseSource: Oasen Drinkwater

Desal for Municipal WaterVoltea Pilot in Rotterdam

• April - Nov 2011• Test CapDI on groundwater • Feed conductivity = 1.5 mS/cm• 6 L/min (0.36 m3/hr)• Oasen drinking water station• Results promising!

• 80% salt removal• 70% water recovery• 0.4 kWh/m3 pure • Stable operation

• Oasen interested in large-scale CapDI system as RO alternativeVoltea Capacitive Deionization System

Desal for Municipal WaterPURO Pilot

• Kickoff 2011• Place RO system 100 m below

ground• Reduced pumping energy• Anerobic process, no iron

removal pretreatment needed• Major maintenance challenges

with underground operation

Schematic of PURO pilot in Ridderkerk

Desalination for Industrial Water

Dutch tapwater is expensive (€1.75 /m3) Cost incentive for factories to find tapwater alternatives, or

reduce tapwater use

Wor

ld

Euro

pe -

Wes

t

Euro

pe -

East

Am

eric

a's

Asi

a

Aus

tralia

- N

Z

Afri

ca

Net

herla

nds

USA

Ger

man

y

€ -

€ 0.50

€ 1.00

€ 1.50

€ 2.00

€ 2.50

€ 3.00

Regional Water Costs TAPWATER

WASTEWATER DISCHARGE

Desalination for Industrial WaterVoltea CapDI in Cooling Towers

Use CapDI to desalinate feedwater to cooling towers

Rabobank HQ in Utrecht Increase cycles of recirculation in

cooling tower from 3 to 14 17% reduction tapwater use 68% reduction wastewater

discharge 75% reduction chemical usage

(antiscalents, corrosion inhibitors)

Capacitive Deionization System at Rabobank HQ. ~2 m3/hr capacity

Rabobank HQ in Utrecht

Take Home Message

Brackish ground and surface water is a growing problem in the Netherlands

Problem affects agriculture, drinking water supply, and industry

Desal will play a increasing role in the Dutch water industry t

Typical view from a window in the Netherlands

Desalination for Industrial WaterDow Chemical Plant

Evides chosen by Dow to design, build, finance, operate (DBFO) industrial water plant

Location with limited freshwater Plant produces process water, boiler

feed, cooling tower feed, ~3800 m3/hr Demi water initially from seawater RO –

major fouling problems (2000-2007 ) 2008 switched to MF/RO fed with

municipal wastewater Plan upgrade to membrane

bioreactor/RO fed with municipal wastewater

Section of water plant at Dow Chemical factory in Terneuzen

NaCl Drinking water limitations

Most drinking water is groundwaterDutch National limits on chloride are <150 ppm,

Na <120 ppmUS secondary DW standard is 250 ppmEU chloride <250 ppm, Na <200 ppm, EC <2500

microS/cm

WRI water risk index

The 3 dimensions (23 total indicators) of water-related economic risk were determined by WRI in collaboration with industry experts, financial analysts, and water specialists, and include:

Access and growth constraints: provides a measure of water risks driven by the physical availability and accessibility of water;

Cost risks: capture the cost risks faced by water users due to poor water quality, regulatory uncertainty, or high prices of water and its treatment; and

Disruption potential: provides a measure of the tensions and conflicts around water driven by social and regulatory concerns.

CapDI – How it Works

Desal for Municipal WaterVitens Pilot in Friesland

• Vitens-largest drinking water supplier in Netherlands

• Anerobic brackish water RO pilot in Friesland (feed = 2.6 mS/cm)

• Deep well injection of anerobic brine

• No antiscalents due to reinjection restrictions

• 70% recovery• Started in 2009• 50 m3/hr

RO equipment in Vitens pilot trailer in Noardburgum, Friesland